The air is crisp. There’s a chill wind. Sky is clear. Information architects everywhere, stirring, stretching, blinking sleep from their eyes. It’s that time of year again: IA Summit 2017 approaches! And this year, the Summit will be focused on designing interactions with increasingly smarter technologies.
As we approach the inevitable technological singularity, we designers have more responsibility than ever to ensure our chatbots and Alexas and Nest thermostats and self-driving cars have empathy for humans coursing through their digital veins.
Which is why we’re super excited that this year’s IA Summit has announced its theme:
Information Architects have always recognized the essential role of the user. To be successful, IA must work for people. But as artificial intelligence and machine learning increase in power and prevalence, how can we ensure that technology serves human needs, and not the other way around?
They’ve just announced their schedule as well, and it looks killer. A few talks we’re particularly excited about:
- Teachers vs Robots: Information Architecture and the Design of Learning Technologies
- Making Your Work More Human: An Empathetic Research Workshop
- AI for IA’s: Machine Learning Demystified
They had us at Teachers vs. Robots. Though the talk description went in a different direction than our imaginations.
But of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg; the entire schedule looks fantastic, with a diverse and innovative speaker lineup.
So go grab some tickets! Early bird registration ends on January 22nd—that’s Sunday! Be sure to use discount code UXBOOTH for $50 off.
Still not convinced? Here are a few more reasons to go to IA Summit 2017:
- Vancouver has a pretty cool aquarium
- They filmed a lot of the X-Files in Vancouver (and other stuff!)
- You might get to meet Ryan Reynolds and eat pie
- You might get to eat the best Chinese food you’ve ever had
- You might learn something, meet cool people, and bolster your professional network. If that kind of thing is important.